Over the past five weeks, Stanford made three trips to the Eastern Time Zone and played three games against ranked opponents.
The results weren’t pretty. After winning its first-ever ACC game on a field goal as time expired at Syracuse, the Cardinal (2-5, 1-3 ACC) has lost its last four games by a combined score of 160-38. The closest game during the losing streak against No. 9 Clemson, No. 12 Notre Dame, No. 22 SMU and Virginia Tech was 24 points.
Stanford’s schedule is now more manageable – four of its last five games are in the Bay Area, and all are against unranked opponents, starting Saturday at home against Wake Forest (3-4, 1-2). But can the Cardinal take advantage?
At quarterback, coach Troy Taylor is choosing between a freshman (Elijah Brown) with no career starts and a junior (Ashton Daniels) with 506 yards passing total and six interceptions in five starts against FBS competition.
Brown took over from Daniels last week after SMU took a 21-0 first-quarter lead. He finished 16 of 32 for 153 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
“It was not an easy situation,” Taylor said. “I thought he made good decisions. I thought he was really resilient after taking some hits and keeping his eyes downfield and he made some nice throws.”
Taylor said both Brown and Daniels are taking reps with the first team at practice this week, and he would not be announcing a starter.
Elijah Brown #2 of the Stanford Cardinal drops back to pass against the Southern Methodist Mustangs during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium on Oct. 19, 2024 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Though Brown is inexperienced, he may provide more upside for an offense that ranks 122nd in the FBS at 166.9 passing yards a game, and he is expected to improve after his first action against an FBS opponent.
“The experience that you get, there’s no replacement for it,” Taylor said. “Anytime you’re getting live snaps out on the field and adjusting to the game and the coverages and getting hit and seeing that the speed of the game it’s going to make you a better player. Obviously he wishes he made a couple of throws and I wish we protected him a little bit better but he’s going to grow from it and continue to get experience and continue to improve as a player.”
Meanwhile, the defense also ranks 122nd in the FBS in passing yards allowed per game (274.6). It allowed an 87-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage last week in a 40-10 loss to SMU.
“We started off rough,” safeties coach Bob Gregory said. “They exploded a few plays on us, exposed a couple of our young guys and I’m sure there’s a little bit of performance anxiety with all of our young kids in the secondary. They settled down and played much better in the second half. All that was a great learning experience for our young kids. We can grow from it.”
The team hopes to have starting safety Scotty Edwards back, but two other starters, safety Jay Green and cornerback Zahran Manley, are still sidelined.
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The Cardinal will have its first experience defending the slow mesh, a technique that Wake Forest employs that involves the quarterback keeping the ball in the running back’s chest before deciding whether to hand it off or execute a play-action pass.
“I think it puts a stress on your ability to fit the run game,” Taylor said. “It’s tempo of the run that you’re not used to seeing so you have to get accustomed to that. (Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson) has always been an innovator and they have talented guys so it’ll be a challenge, but our defensive coaches have studied the system and I think they’ll be ready.”
The slow mesh hasn’t been very effective this season – the Demon Deacons (3-4, 1-2) average 27.1 points (77th in the FBS) and 397 yards (67th) under quarterback Hank Bachmeier, the older brother of Stanford wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier.
But Wake Forest has won both of its road games, at North Carolina State and Connecticut, while the Cardinal is still looking to win its first home game against an FBS opponent in its second year under Taylor.